Dollie Mae Avery Ramey

Dollie Ramey left this world to be with Jesus early morning December 6, 2021 at the age of 88.

Dollie was born October 12, 1933 to Herbert Avery and Agnes (Wilson) Avery. She had ten siblings, all of whom preceded her in death: Virgil, Retha Mae, Vernon, Delanie, Delpha, Veo, Daisy, Alfred, Vester and Donnie. She married Milton Ramey at age 17and they had three children: Kathy, Duwane, and Ernest, all born in Oregon. Dollie is survived by her three children, five grandchildren (Kirsten, Jeremiah, Travis, Mandy and Jenny) and six great grandchildren (Ryleigh, Samantha, Xander, Lexie, Madi, Luke and Juniper).

Dollie was married for 36 years and lived in Coos Bay, Oregon (where she loved the ocean!) and then in Pagosa Springs, Colorado (where she thought the snow was beautiful but did NOT like to shovel it or drive in it!). Dollie lived in Taylor, Texas for a short time then returned to Arkansas where she bought a house on Pine Street in Belleville.

Dollie was a fierce proponent of education. She started school when she was only 4 years old, because the teacher "Miss Pauline", had a 4-year-old daughter and wanted a friend for her in the one room school. Unfortunately, when Dollie was in the eleventh grade she had to quit school because her family could not afford the books and fees. However, when she was 55 years old Dollie went back to school at night and obtained her G.E.D. (Because education was so important to her, there will be a scholarship established in her name for a young woman in Yell County.) Dollie was happy that all of her children and grandchildren attended college.

Dollie's faith was also important to her. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Pagosa Springs, Colorado for many years. She was active in the Women's Missionary Union and taught "Sunbeams" (a missions class for children) on Wednesdays after school. When she moved to Belleville, she attended Grace Baptist Church.

Dollie was a full-time mother and homemaker until her children became adults. Then she worked as a dishwasher at the Elkhorn Café in Pagosa Springs, as a food preparer at Stella Manor in Russellville, as a cook at Pepper Pan in Danville, and then as a janitor at Western Yell Elementary in Belleville.

In her eleventh grade Home Ec class Dollie learned to make bread and cinnamon rolls and she continued to make bread for many years, sometimes twice a week. She taught all her children and grandchildren to make her special bread and cinnamon rolls.

Another legacy of Dollie's was that she sewed one-of-a-kind quilts for her family, including for each child and grandchild.

Dollie was very patriotic and appreciated living in America. She was proud that her brothers, nephews and a granddaughter served in the military. She like to sing America the Beautiful and she helped her children memorize the Gettysburg Address.

Family was important to Dollie and she established the Wilson-Avery family reunions on the first Sunday in June.

Dollie loved poems; some favorites include The Rose Still Grows Beyond the Wall, Trees, The Bridge Builder, Obedience, The Village Blacksmith, and The Weaver. She was a lifelong avid reader, she especially enjoyed mysteries. Her favorite childhood book was the Little Clearing in the Wood and her adult favorite was A Painted House that John Grisham wrote about Arkansas.

Some of her best times was listening to country music and singing hymns. Her most meaningful hymn was Because He Lives. She really liked Christmas carols and thought they should be sung year-round!

Favorite foods were fresh tomatoes, okra, and CHEETOS! She drank exactly one coke per year. Things that gave her joy were butterflies, ladybugs, and rainbows. She never had much but she was always quick to share what she had.

Special thank you to the staff at Deerview Nursing Home in Ola, Mitchells Nursing Home in Danville, Dr. Tippin, Chambers Hospital and all who cared for Dollie with kindness and respect and made her life easier.

The family will have a private celebration of Dollie's life in the spring.

When Dollie's 3-year-old great granddaughter was told she had gone to heaven, but that her family would see her again someday, the great granddaughter asked her mother "what will you do when you see her?" Her mother thought about it and replied "We will dance because Grandma Dollie loved to dance!"

Godspeed Dollie

Arrangements by Cornwell Funeral Home Danville and River Valley Crematory Dardanelle. Online guestbook and condolences at www.cornwellfuneralhomes.com